White powdery residue on blueberry bush stem

[Joeka101]

Hi all,

Ive recently gone mad and bought a total of 6 blueberry bushes for growing in pots. I noticed on this one ("Reka" from tesco £4) that obe stem has started showing this white powdery residue after a week or so. I wondered if it was powdery mildew but have not seen photos of this on stems for comparison. It otherwise appears healthy so could it be fertiliser or insecticide residue?

All these gardening websites make me paranoid about diseases!

Thanks for any help,

Joe Kavanagh

[Bigmallly]

Is that the pot it came in or have you potted them on, if so what compost did you use. Apart from the white powder, they look healthy. I would be tempted to wipe it off with a damp tissue & see what happens.

[Bigmallly]

You could be right with the powdery mildew theory:

"Fungal Diseases
Fungal diseases on blueberry bushes can be controlled by removing the infected plant parts and spraying with a fungicide as directed by the manufacturer. Gray mold causes leaf spots and blossom blight (deformity). Powdery mildew coats the stems, leaves and flowers of blueberry bushes with a white layer. Fusicoccum and Phomopsis cause cankers on blueberry bush stems, which results in the stems wilting and dying. Other fungal diseases cause shriveled or watery fruit and root rot."

[Joeka101]

Yeah I potted them on at time of purchase. That pot is about a 20cm diameter. I didnt notice the powder at the time and this was only about 2 wks ago. Ill try the wipe off approach and if that fails its pruning / spraying time...

[Joeka101]

...forgot to mention, yes I used ericaceous compost and food with some vermiculite.